A First Lesson On Change

So far on Shuriken of Truth I've talked about the Ninja and the Overman in terms of the self - goals, finding ways around problems, etc. While a discussion on the idea of "selflessness" will be for a later post, I've been tossing some ideas in my head around how other people change. Here's a culmination of that rumination (suggestion on how to turn that into a kickass rap are welcome).

Change, in others or in the world, will never, never come about through brute force.

The Segal Demonstrates Change by Brute Force.

You cannot force others to change. The immediate reaction of anyone except the most ninja of ninjas* to brute force change is to resist. In some cases, this is legitimate - the force may be intruding on their actualization. In most cases, however, it is the ego that gets in the way.

Most of us have a ritual (or many rituals) that we perform day in, day out. This ritual is the ego's survival mechanism - a little monologue to make sure that it still exists and is important. This "me-ism" causes a knee jerk reaction to new ideas when they interrupt what "seems to be working". "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," is quite possibly one of the most detrimental attitudes a person or an organization can have. It will yield mediocrity and even failure over time. As I've mentioned in previous posts, the Ninja knows when to reevaluate his goals and his methods; it is a careful balance that is at the heart of what it means to be a ninja.

People only change when they can incorporate the new ideas into this ego ritual. Literally, this means that most people will only change when they think it was their idea in the first place. Like the cliche' boss who thinks something's a terrible idea and then says, "wait, I have a great idea!"

This has two implications for the Overman. The first is to overcome this ego ritual (or rather, use it purposefully to get to the goal you want) in himself. The second is to recognize it in others and use it when trying to change them (and by extension, change the world around him). The latter can be accomplished by trying to enter an understanding relationship with the other - putting yourself in their Tabi Shoes, as it were - and listening for the cues that will allow them to incorporate the change you are looking for into their internal monologue.

(Ninja challenge: think about how it is the same with changing the world as it is with changing as people.)

Sounds easy, eh? If you've ever tried anything like this, you know it takes ninja amounts of patience. I honestly can't say I have that much patience (at least not anymore) with a lot of people.

*The word ninja is in fact all parts of speech at all times. Yes, even articles.

American "Ninja" Arrested in Afghanistan

Alright alright, everyone calm down.

I know you've probably read this article by now. This is the story of Gary Brooks Faulkner, an american construction worker in Pakistan who was arrested after escaping his mandatory security detail (and being missing for 10 hours). He was apparently carrying a sword, a dagger, a gun, and Christian literature.

Before I go off on why he's not a ninja, I'd like to present the opportunity for others who, having read my blog, to comment what's wrong with this picture.

Discuss!

What is Stupid?

I was recently reading this article about Einstein's brain (it's cool, read it), and scientists trying to figure out what makes people a "genius". It got me thinking instead of what "smart" means to a ninja, and conversely, what it means to be stupid.

Einstein - silly, but not stupid. We hope.

As some of you know, I'm a pretty political guy. By "pretty" I mean "a lot", though I'm not that bad looking either (no wonder English is so hard to understand by outsiders). I've refrained, for the most part, of getting too politically ranty here (I have other blogs for that). Also, I've tried to make it a point of being a ninja not to marginalize people and make judgements on their behalf. But sometimes, well, they need a shuriken to the face. A shuriken of truth.

I don't like to call people stupid. But there can be ways of acting that are "stupid", and I thought I'd be interesting to write about how the Ninja defines "stupid". As the ultimate relativist, the Overman doesn't consider a particular goal better than another (objectively - they can and MUST rank goals subjectively). So "stupid" isn't related to what people's goals are, it is related to how they go about meeting them.

Rather like insanity (doing the same thing over and over expecting different results), stupidity is simply taking actions or holding beliefs that are contrary to your goals, or alternatively, being dishonest with yourself about what your goals are.

The examples are many, but the ones that make me want my left eye to twitch out of its socket are usually political. Let's take two examples, one from the "progressive snooty left" and one from the "redneck right". In the first camp, these people continue to believe that government involvement in the economy actually fixes problems, when in fact they have created every single problem they complain about. EVERY one. In the latter, they continue to believe that there are magical bogeymen in the desert that are looking to destroy their freedom and make everybody commies, but fail to realize that blowing people up makes people hate us AND having ongoing undeclared wars strengthens government (turning us into commies). These people are stupid.

I mean, even MONKEYS are smart enough to be ninjas.

To get back to philosophy, the Ninja seeks to align his goals with his actions. If the Ninja has the patience to try to teach others, the best lesson he can give is to try to show them how to do the same. However (and I'll talk about how people change later), in doing so, it is often revealed what someone's true goals are. In our examples above, it is often the case that the douchebag leftist, though he may have convinced himself otherwise, is not looking to help poor people - he is looking to satisfy his own ego or the need to control others. In the case of Mr. Carrying a Cross and a Flag, it is often the case that he is looking to satisfy cathartic hate or quell an imagined fear - usually a fear created in him by others to control him. Not being honest with one's self (or at least not on purpose) is a big ninja no-no*.

If either of these types of people wanted to be smart, maybe they should start paying attention to the actual outcome of their beliefs and actions. Then it will be revealed that it either doesn't work, or it's not what they actually want. Reality reacts to what you do, not what you say you want. And you can either change reality, or change what you want - in the end the effect is the same.

*Note that this is not related to being consistent or non-hypocritical. Consistency and hypocrisy are based on time and as I'll get into eventually, it's a helpful exercise to try to remove time from any philosophical assertion and see if it still holds. Being inconsistent or a hypocrite does not preclude one from being a ninja as long as doing so is in accordance with the ninja's goals (being called on hypocrisy might be a setback, in most cases, but as long as you're doing it on purpose it's fine). Besides, consistency is for the boring.

Compromise is Mediocrity

Last November, I was on a work trip to America's Wang, also known as Florida, to speak on a panel. The organization that hosted the panel does these sorts of gatherings all the time, and tries to line up speakers that will be relevant to their constituents.

With thanks to despair.com

They brought in a motivational speaker for the later half of the afternoon. To make a long story short (and to avoid risking copyright infringement giving away his valuable trade secrets), most of his presentation involved things you've heard before (happiness is infectious, etc). However, a large part of his spiel involved anecdotes where life threw him lemons, and no matter what, he tried to stay positive.

This of course has its merits, and staying positive in any situation really seems like it should be a ninja rule. However, it got me thinking - where is the line between staying positive and just lowering your standards?

This is a curious goal for people to have, and it reflects itself the most in politics. It amazes me when someone tells me, "well, why can't they just find the places where they agree and do that?" or "hey, at least they did something", and consequently judges as "obstructionist" anyone who sticks to their guns. When did compromise become such a lofty achievement?

Compromise is not a goal. Compromise is a method. And usually, compromise yields nothing more than mediocrity. It is almost as if the goal is to avoid adversity rather than actually achieve something great in the face of adversity. Again, fear of change.

The ninja does not see adversity as something to be avoided. Adversity is something to be met and greeted with the respect one gives to a fellow duelist or sports opponent. Nietzsche spoke often of celebrating both the best and worst of what is offered to us. It is more than "whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger", it is a celebration of challenge, a thirst for such opportunities. If looking for the good in life means looking to be satisfied, then the drive to become starts to atrophy.

Instead of looking for the good in life, why not look for the awesome in life?

Uncommon Sense

Something dawned on me over the past year, as various people and organizations have reacted to the current economic downturn. Not surprisingly, most such people and organizations have reacted the same way.

My own company is a good example. It's large, and it's a non-profit, tempered with years of bureaucracy and studies on how to operate. But what struck me as funny is the way they have reacted to starting to lose money - the impending fallout of things that are seemingly beyond our control.

First, of course, was a salary freeze. Next came cuts in travel, scrutinizing of expenses, and the like. What amazed me about all this is that this is the way lots of people and organizations react. It amounts to spreading the damage, lying down, and taking it up the ass. Rather than seeing times of crisis as an opportunity for change, they do everything in their power to fight change, even when it would be easier to adapt to it instead. Rather than taking the opportunity to re-evaluate its business model, shut down departments and programs that aren't working, and reward those who are succeeding, they spread the misery over the entire group and demoralize everyone in the process.

And so I got thinking - why is it that everyone follows the crowd and reacts the same way to crisis? Why not, for once, do exactly the opposite? And suddenly I realized I had...

Ninja Rule #3!

Don't Panic

Fear is the mind killer. The worst thing you can do in any situation is to panic. Crisis is the best time to challenge yourself and re-evaluate your goals (see Ninja Rule #2).

Fear is not unavoidable, nor should you steel yourself into being emotionless about crisis. However, fear can be used as a fuel for action - a source of the adrenaline rush that brings out our best.

The same idea can be applied to businesses as well. Rather than going into 'emergency shutdown mode' and bracing for impact - use the time to move around the crisis and be in a position to overcome it. Cutting back may be necessary, but rather than just issuing a general, wide-net, one size fits all approach, why not take the opportunity to see what is working and what isn't? Why not look at what others are doing and do the opposite?

Silent E! The Ninja of the Alphabet

Oh. My. God.

I may have wept and fell to my knees when I saw this:

Ninja Assassin, the movie

(embedding is disabled).

It's like someone heard my prayers. Here's the official site:

http://ninja-assassin-movie.warnerbros.com/

I'll do a piece on the star, Rain, soon.